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Asean

Asean
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the Asean Declaration by Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has expanded to include Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Its aims include accelerating economic growth, social progress and cultural development of its member states and the protection of regional peace and stability.
A rescuer navigates through a flooded cave in Xaysomboun province, Laos, where seven villagers mining for gold are trapped. Photo: Facebook/Thailand Rescue Diver
Laos

Video | Rescuers race to save miners in flooded Laos cave

Thai teams have joined the mission, as rescuers share photos of the treacherous conditions in the cave tunnel.

Indonesia

How US military aircraft repair hub could threaten Indonesian neutrality

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Cambodia

Video | Cambodia’s Hun Sen pardons detained opposition leader

Cambodia

Hun Sen pardons detained Cambodia opposition leader Kem Sokha

Many political opponents were convicted during Hun Sen’s time in power while Kem Sokha’s CNRP co-founder Sam Rainsy remains in self-exile in France.

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Kem Sokha, former leader of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), arrives to attend a hearing at the Municipal Court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE
Energy

Shock absorber: will Asean’s power grid be up to the task by 2045?

With only eight of 18 links built and a 100-terawatt demand surge looming, analysts say the blueprint may need an overhaul for the AI age.

Hong Kong

Opinion | In a fractured world, Hong Kong must seize its Apec moment

The city will host the finance ministers’ meeting in October. It could seize the day and deepen cooperation with like-minded cities.

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South China Sea

Why the largest-ever US-Philippine drill, and Japan’s role, makes China uneasy

The scale of this year’s Balikatan exercise has been described as part of a trend that will ‘exacerbate regional instability’.

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Troops from New Zealand, the Philippines, the US and Australia pose for a photo after taking part in counter-landing live-fire drills during the Balikatan exercises on April 27. Photo: Reuters
US-China relations

Asian Angle | What the China-US stability pact means for Southeast Asia

The real test of Beijing and Washington’s adoption of ‘constructive strategic stability’ will be how words translate into action.

Artificial intelligence

Southeast Asia is chasing the AI boom, but at what cost?

A regional dash for digital dominance risks running headlong into an energy crunch and an existential threat to jobs.

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Laos

Over 4,300 Southeast Asian species face extinction threat

Tigers, giant catfish, gibbons and pangolins are among the thousands of ‘critically endangered’ or ‘endangered’ species in the region.

A critically endangered Sumatran rhino calf with its mother at the Way Kambas National Park Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Indonesia. Photo: AFP/Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry
Belt and Road Initiative

China’s new US$10.7 billion canal near completion to boost Asean trade links

The Pinglu Canal – a US$10 billion waterway connecting China’s heartlands to the Gulf of Tonkin – will begin trial operations as soon as September.

The Pinglu Canal runs through Qinzhou in China’s southern Guangxi region. Photo: Xinhua
China trade

Asia-Pacific trade risks loom large as Apec official warns of protectionism

China is urged to evolve as a world buyer, ahead of ministers’ gathering in Suzhou where a raft of far-reaching trade issues will be discussed.

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Sexual harassment and assault

Video | Thai Singha beer heir dismissed amid sex abuse claims

Siranudh Scott, a scion of the family behind the beer brand, posted a video accusing his brother of repeatedly abusing him when he was a teenager.

War and conflict

Opinion | Malacca Strait could be the next hinge point if Asia isn’t careful

Straits like Hormuz and Malacca are pressure points where commerce and power converge. What once defined success now defines vulnerability.

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A motorcyclist passes by liquefied natural gas tankers in the Malacca Strait off the coast of Malaysia on April 15. Photo: EPA
The Philippines

Philippine navy’s ‘aspirational’ middle power claim comes under scrutiny

The navy based its assessment partly on regional partners admiring its newer ships that were deployed in recent joint exercises.

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Philippine navy sailors stand on the deck of BRP Miguel Malvar, a corvette acquired from South Korea, in Subic town, Zambales province, north of Manila, in April last year. Photo: AFP/Handout/Philippine Navy-Public Affairs Office
Indonesia

Indonesia’s oil hub pitch collides with Asean’s trust deficit

Joint energy security is easy to endorse in principle, yet the bloc has a stubborn record of leaving its emergency frameworks untouched.

Hong Kong economy

How can Hong Kong seize opportunities as US-China relations stabilise?

InvestHK chief says city must adapt to changing international order while chamber boss suggests firms build cross-regional strategies.

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Trade

Canada pushes to finalise Asean trade deal to cut US reliance

Ottawa is keen to sign an FTA with Asean this year, as analysts predict two-way growth in sectors ranging from mining to manufacturing.

Asean leaders pose for a group photo during the opening ceremony of the bloc’s summit in Cebu, Philippines, on May 8. Photo: Reuters
China trade

Asia needs ‘institutional toolbox’ to survive global shocks, China experts warn

Ahead of Trump’s China visit, experts at an RCEP forum discuss a supply-chain overhaul, looking to insulate the world’s biggest trading bloc.

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South China Sea

Philippines pitches Asean maritime hub despite ‘big red elephant in the room’

Can a Philippine-led maritime hub succeed? Observers say the plan touches on a dispute other members are loath to broach.

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Myanmar

‘Tentative step’: Asean weighs bringing Myanmar back into the fold

Virtual talks may offer a ‘sensible middle ground’ for reconciliation after Myanmar’s years in the political wilderness, analysts say.

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Myanmar’s newly elected President Min Aung Hlaing waves as he leaves after a swearing-in ceremony in Naypyidaw on April 10. Photo: AP
India

Vietnam joins rush for India’s battle-tested ‘strong, non-Western’ BrahMos

As a joint Indo-Russian venture, BrahMos offers a supersonic, non-Western alternative to US hardware with no Nato-linked conditions.

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A man waves India’s national flag in front of a replica of the BrahMos missile system in Ahmedabad last year. Photo: AFP
China trade

How a China-backed highway may turn landlocked Laos into a trade gateway

The project is part of wider efforts to build overland trade corridors linking southern China with the Mekong region.

US-China relations

China plan to be global arbitration hub fighting Western distrust: experts

China’s newly revised Arbitration Law marks the most significant overhaul of the country’s commercial dispute framework since 1994.

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The Philippines

Asean to step up push for South China Sea code, energy security

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr says the code of conduct is key to unlocking deeper China-Asean economic cooperation.

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Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr addresses a press conference on the sidelines of the 48th Asean summit in Cebu province on Friday. Photo: EPA
Diplomacy

Asean’s pivot to energy security leaves long-standing issues on summit sidelines

Southeast Asia is one of the worst affected by the global fuel crisis due to its high imports of oil and gas coming from the Gulf.

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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr delivers an opening speech at the Asean summit in Cebu on Friday. Photo: Reuters
Myanmar

Myanmar could come in from the cold as Asean members warm towards nation

Myanmar has been largely sidelined from top-level Asean meetings since a 2021 military coup that sparked a nationwide civil conflict.

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The Philippines

Opinion | Why China’s warning over military blocs is finding listeners in Asia

For regional governments, strategy is about preserving options. China has read this instinct carefully and given it a diplomatic vocabulary.

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